Career and Education Opportunities for Healthcare Managers in Birmingham, Alabama

There is a wide variety of career and education opportunities for healthcare managers in the Birmingham, Alabama area. Currently, 2,940 people work as healthcare managers in Alabama. This is expected to grow by 21% to about 3,570 people by 2016. This is better than the national trend for healthcare managers, which sees this job pool growing by about 16.0% over the next eight years. In general, healthcare managers plan, direct, or coordinate medicine and health services in hospitals, clinics, managed care organizations, public health agencies, or similar organizations.

A person working as a healthcare manager can expect to earn about $36 hourly or $75,570 per year on average in Alabama and about $38 per hour or $80,240 annually on average in the U.S. as a whole. Compared with people working in the overall category of Medical, people working as healthcare managers in Alabama earn less. They earn less than people working in the overall category of Medical nationally. People working as healthcare managers can fill a number of jobs, such as: health care administrator, department supervisor, and research director.

The Birmingham area is home to fifteen schools of higher education, including one within twenty-five miles of Birmingham where you can get a degree as a healthcare manager. Healthcare managers usually hold a Bachelor's degree, so you can expect to spend about four years training to become a healthcare manager if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Healthcare Manager

Healthcare Manager video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

Healthcare managers conduct and administer fiscal operations, including accounting, planning budgets, authorizing expenditures, establishing rates for services, and coordinating financial reporting. They also design and implement organizational policies and processes for the facility or medical unit. Equally important, healthcare managers have to confer with medical and community groups to consider service problems, respond to community needs, enhance public relations, direct efforts and plans, and promote health programs. They are often called upon to maintain awareness of advances in medicine, computerized diagnostic and treatment equipment, data processing technology, government regulations, health insurance changes, and financing options. They are expected to establish work schedules and assignments for staff, in line with workload, space and equipment availability. Finally, healthcare managers design and maintain computerized record management systems to store and process data such as personnel efforts and data, and to produce reports.

Every day, healthcare managers are expected to be able to articulate ideas and problems. They need to listen to and understand others in meetings. It is also important that they read and understand documents and reports.

It is important for healthcare managers to design instructional materials and conduct in-service and community-based educational programs. They are often called upon to design or expand and implement medical programs or health services that promote research and community health. They also establish objectives and evaluative or operational criteria for units they oversee. Somewhat less frequently, healthcare managers are also expected to design and implement organizational policies and processes for the facility or medical unit.

Healthcare managers sometimes are asked to oversee change in integrated health care delivery systems, such as work restructuring and shifts in the focus of care. and ready activity reports to inform management of the status and implementation plans of programs and quality initiatives. And finally, they sometimes have to design instructional materials and conduct in-service and community-based educational programs.

Like many other jobs, healthcare managers must have exceptional integrity and be able to take change and lead.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Birmingham include:

Academic Director. Plan, direct, or coordinate research, instructional, student administration and services, and other educational activities at postsecondary institutions, including universities, and junior and community colleges.

Administrator. Plan, direct, or coordinate supportive services of an organization, such as recordkeeping, mail distribution, telephone operator/receptionist, and other office support services. May oversee facilities planning and maintenance and custodial operations.

Educational Program Director. Plan, direct, or coordinate the academic, clerical, or auxiliary activities of public or private elementary or secondary level schools.

Food Service Manager. Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages.

Human Relations Manager. Plan, direct, and coordinate human resource management activities of an organization to maximize the strategic use of human resources and maintain functions such as employee compensation, recruitment, and regulatory compliance.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Healthcare Manager Training

University of Alabama at Birmingham - Birmingham, AL

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Administration Bldg Suite 1070, Birmingham, AL 35294-0110. University of Alabama at Birmingham is a large university located in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 16,149 students and an admission rate of 85%. University of Alabama at Birmingham has 4 areas of study related to Healthcare Manager. They are:

Health/Health Care Administration/Management, master's degree and doctor's degree which graduated forty-two and three students respectively in 2008.

Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence:
The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence is a professional who leads and champions process-improvement initiatives everywhere from small businesses to multinational corporations that can have regional or global focus in a variety of service and industrial settings.

Certified in Volunteer Administration:
In the constantly changing contemporary work environment, the standard of best practices in volunteer management must remain at the highest level of expertise possible.

National Professional Certification in Sales:
The Certification was designed to capture the core Sales duties for a broad range of entry-level through first-line supervisory positions across the sales and service industries.

Program Management Professional:
Project Management Institute's newest credential is specifically developed to acknowledge the qualifications of the professional who leads the coordinated management of multiple projects and ensures the ultimate success of a program.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama photo by Eric_in_SF

Birmingham is located in Jefferson County, Alabama. It has a population of over 228,798, which has shrunk by 5.8% over the last ten years. The cost of living index in Birmingham, 81, is well below the national average. New single-family homes in Birmingham cost $187,300 on average, which is well above the state average. In 2008, one hundred thirty-two new homes were built in Birmingham, down from two hundred thirty-two the previous year.

The top three industries for women in Birmingham are health care, educational services, and finance and insurance. For men, it is construction, accommodation and food services, and health care. The average travel time to work is about 24 minutes. More than 18.5% of Birmingham residents have a bachelor's degree, which is lower than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 6.6%, is lower than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Birmingham is 12.5%, which is greater than Alabama's average of 10.7%.

The percentage of Birmingham residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 60.1%, is more than both the national and state average. Williams Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Westminister Presbyterian Church and West End Methodist Church are all churches located in Birmingham. The most common religious groups are the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church and the Catholic Church.

Birmingham is home to the Mineral Park Municipal Golf Course and the Cooper Green Golf Course as well as Avondale Mills Park and Smithfield Historic District. Shopping malls in the area include Acipco Shopping Center, Altadena Square Shopping Center and Parkway East Huffman Shopping Center. Visitors to Birmingham can choose from Marriott Hotel Birmingham, Rime Garden Extended Stay Suites and Studioplus for temporary stays in the area.